Isla Mujeres

Country: Mexico

Intro to Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres is an island in the Gulf of Mexico, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) off the Yucatán Peninsula coast. Isla Mujeres is a year-round dive destination known for big animal encounters like whale sharks and mantas. Easy diving with abundant marine life like turtles make this a great family dive destination.

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DIVING INFORMATION

MARINE LIFE

This is a great place for whale shark tours, and divers can also enjoy beautiful corals, wrecks, and spot a variety of pelagic species.

There are two distinct snorkeling opportunities off Isla Mujeres that attract divers and underwater photographers year after year. These are swimming with sailfish from mid-December to mid-March and swimming with whale sharks during the summer.

Those who wish to dive with sailfish will spend up to 8 or 10 hours on a boat searching for the sailfish as they hunt and control schools of baitfish. Sea conditions can be rough, and like any natural encounter, the sailfish are not guaranteed to show up. The encounters with sailfish will be brief, but it is an incredible experience.

Whale sharks gather during the summing in two areas. Most operators will snorkel off Isla Holbox, where the whale sharks gather to feed on plankton and krill. Other operators will take snorkelers way off Isla Mujeres to clear blue water, where whale sharks and mantas feed on bonito eggs after spawning events. Depending on the day, there can be many whale sharks or not many whale sharks.

Reviews (1)

If you want to absolutely nail a chance to swim with whale sharks, look into doing a Isla Mujeres, Mexico whale shark tours. We've gone twice. Loved everything about the trip. The hotel we stayed at is kind of basic, but clean and safe. The hours in the water...spectacular. We felt safe there...the boat operators know what they are doing and the whale sharks were treated well...and there were hundreds of them...along with big mantas, mobula rays and lots of other fun ocean live. Highly recommended. By the way...we did Holbox island as well...loved it but the boat rides are often long and rough at Holbox.